The holiday tip (with video): Who should get what?

Who to tip and how much? That’s the burning question in the weeks leading up to Christmas

As Christmas approaches, what about your hair stylist, your personal trainer, your bartender... Whom do you tip and how much? We asked people in the service industry.

MONTREAL - Who to tip and how much?

That’s the burning question in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

The hairdresser, the barber, the manicurist, the doorman, the parking lot attendant and the dog walker are all expecting a little something before the holidays.

So is your personal trainer, the workers at your children’s daycare and your favourite bartender.

Etiquette experts say a token of appreciation to service providers is a nice gesture and good business. It is at once a thank you for past services and an incentive for future favours.

But Nancy Kosik, a certified etiquette and protocol expert in Montreal, said people stress needlessly over the Christmas tip. It’s not meant to be a financial transaction, nor a performance review. What a holiday tip is supposed to be, she suggests, is a gift to someone who has provided you with great service all year. A thank you to somebody who has gone the extra mile, or has been kind or helpful, or unfailingly professional. Like the doorman who agrees to water your plants when you are on vacation. Or a barista who gets your coffee started when he sees you coming down the block in the morning. Or a hairdresser who squeezes you in at the last minute when you let your hair go too long.

“Just because it is the holidays doesn’t mean you have to be tipping everyone you come in contact with,” Kozik said. “It is meant for people with whom you have built up a business relationship.

“It says thank you for being reliable. And it says I appreciate you and everything you do for me.”

Whether it’s destined for a teacher, a cleaning person or your condo building’s concierge, Kosik suggests giving the tip in person with a card and a handwritten note attached. In such institutions as banks or daycare centres or nursing homes, where gifts to individuals are disallowed, or where a team of people has provided the service rather than an individual, Kosik suggests sending a gift that can be shared, like chocolates or sweets.

Giving year-end tips is especially important for people who are prone to tardiness or who have a habit of changing appointments at the last minute. In these cases, the tip says thank you, but also “sorry for the trouble.”

How much to give? That depends how much you can afford, how often the service is provided and how many “extras” the person has extended, Kosik says. Her rule of thumb when tipping people you tip throughout the year is to double the usual tip at Christmas time. Kosik says she’d give $25 to a hairdresser she normally gave $7 to $14, for example.

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Hair stylist Alyssa Ann de Santis speaks about receiving holiday tips. "For a blow-dry, usually it's anywhere between $10 and $15. ... The best tip I ever got at Christmastime was for a $30 blowdry. The tip was $20."

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